


Snowed In

by enkelimagnus



Series: SH WLW fic bingo [3]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Cowboys & Cowgirls, F/F, Feelings, Fluff and Angst, Mention of Jordan Kyle, Mention of Past Jordan/Maia, Past Abuse, Snowed In
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-10 06:37:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19901410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enkelimagnus/pseuds/enkelimagnus
Summary: Shadowhunters WLW Bingo Prompt:"Snowed In."Clary and Maia end up being snowed in in a remote cabin. Maia confronts her feelings of inadequacy.





	Snowed In

The cabin was decorated in that clear “western” style that Maia had almost gotten used to. A thick blanket, woolen, brick red, was laid over the small couch. It was only one room, with a small bathroom area in a corner, and a tiny kitchen. The bed was tucked against the wall. The walls were made of wood, and it was a bit cold actually. 

Maia looked through the window. The glass wasn't very clean, but she could still see the heavy blanket of snow that was going to keep them stuck inside of the cabin. 

Maia had never been in such a remote area of the country. She’d been born in Ocean City, and then she’d been in Brooklyn for a long time. She’d never known what the countryside was like, let alone the Canadian Alberta countryside. She barely knew how to ride a horse, she didn’t know how to survive in the wilderness without anyone. 

She didn’t really know what had brought her here. No, actually she did. Luke Garroway had been a friend of her friends. She’d needed an out from the big city. And he’d offered for her to stay over in the guest room of the ranch he lived at with Maryse Trueblood, his girlfriend, a respectable country woman. 

Maia had arrived weeks ago, prepared to spend the winter holidays here and maybe stay afterwards. She’d met Maryse’s children, Alec, Izzy, Max and the adopted son, Jace. She’d met Luke’s stepdaughter from his previous relationship, Clary, and Clary’s best friend, Simon. She’d met Alec’s boyfriend, Magnus, the vet of the area.

She’d met this wonderful family, and this wonderful life. She was taking riding lessons now, helping out at the barn. And when Clary had asked her to come with her to get some winter supplies from the cabin, she’d accepted immediately. 

The door of the cabin opened suddenly, and a pile of firewood with legs walked in. Clary put the wood down next to the fireplace. She was still wearing her winter gear and her cowboy hat, firmly planted on slightly-wet red hair. 

Clary was… something else entirely. Clary wore no lipstick or dark lipstick, and kicked back as many beers as Jace when they went out to drink. She always wore her hat, always drove her beaten-up pick up truck, when she wasn’t on her horse, Patches. She was tough-as-nails, but could easily pass for city-girl delicate. 

Clary started building the fire. Maia failed a little bit useless. She didn’t know what to do right now. She decided she would look around the cabin for food. While Clary was slightly cursing under her breath to get the wood to take, Maia opened the cabinets. 

Bottled water, instant coffee/tea, something that looked like chocolate powder. Nuts and dried, sugared fruit. Chocolate bars, fruit bars. Bags of crisps and the like. Canned food. Smoked meat/ham and cheese. Beans and rice and lentils. They could pretty much have a feast up there while they waited it out. 

Clary looked back at her once the fire had started to take. “Find anything you like?” 

“There’s enough food here to last us days.” Maia smiled softly. 

Clary stood up. “We should take off the wet clothing, and wrap ourselves in the dry blankets.” She explained. “We’re going to be stuck here for a while and staying in wet clothing is not the best thing.”

Maia nodded quietly, looking around the cabin again. 

“Now you’re thinking ‘what the hell did I get myself into?’, right?” Clary asked behind her, something joking in her voice. Maia shook her head. 

“I’m not. I’m just feeling… overwhelmed. And useless.” Maia whispered. 

She was rarely this honest about her feelings. Clary had a way to make her feel safe, to make her feel like she could say anything. And that seemed to include talking about her feelings, and talking about how she felt a little inadequate, right now. 

“Useless?” Clary asked. Maia felt a hand gently fall onto her shoulder. 

“It’s obvious that I have no idea what I’m doing here.” Maia pointed out. 

Clary gently pulled on her shoulder to turn her around and face her. Her cheeks were a little flushed by the cold, and her hair looked darker than it usually did, since it was wetter than usual. She’d just taken off her hat, so it laid in that slightly deflated way. Usually, Clary’s first motion after taking off her hat was to run a hand through a hair so it would go back to a more normal shape. 

Clary smiled at her. “You’re on the learning curve. Believe it or not, I had to learn all of this too. Make a fire, operate a wood stove, ride a horse. I wasn’t born with the knowledge of it. I fell, I burnt myself, I failed. It’s alright to fail.” 

Maia watched her for a moment, staying silent.  _ It’s alright to fail.  _ She swallowed. She didn’t know what to say. The snow was falling outside, and they were supposed to get themselves warm and start making some food, but she was here having an existential crisis. 

“I see you, trying so hard. But Maia, it’s okay. You don’t have to be perfect all the time.” 

It was so… unusual. Maia wasn’t used to this. To someone telling her it was okay not to be perfect. 

Her parents had been neutral about perfection, but they’d been against any type of flaw. She’d learned early what was the best thing for her to be. Perfect, invisible, fading into the background because she barely breathed more than a mannequin. Jordan had expected the same eventually, despite his initial pretense that he loved her for her flaws. He hadn’t loved her loudness. He’d liked her quiet and willing. He’d liked for her to have dreams, but only dreams that worked with his own. 

“You don’t have to say that, you know?” Maia said. “You don’t have to say it if you don’t mean it.” 

Clary looked taken aback for a moment. “I mean it.” 

Maia shrugged, and walked away from her. They always said that.  _ I love you for you.  _ Except it was never true and it always hurt when it came down to it. She could never be enough and it was painfully obvious that she would never be enough for this place. It was obvious in how many times she’d fallen from that horse, and how many times Jace had called her city girl. 

“Maia. I mean it.” 

Maia still did not reply. She slid off her jacket, the fire was roaring now. She put the garment on a chair so it would dry up. She then took off her pants, wet from snow. She grabbed a blanket from a pile of them and wrapped herself in it. 

She walked past Clary and sat down in front of the fire, silent. She heard Clary move, take off her clothes as well, and in a few minutes, Clary was sitting by her side. They watched the fire for a moment. 

Time seemed to slow down with every snowflake that hit the ground. 

“I like you,” Clary started. “I like you a lot. You’re brave, and you’re stubborn. You’re passionate about stuff, and that’s so wonderful to see. I could listen to you talk for hours.” She whispered. “I like you because you’re always trying to learn. I want you to know that I love seeing you progress. I love seeing you put all that work into it. It doesn’t have to be perfect, you don’t have to be perfect. I would never ask you to be perfect. But you try. And I love that about you. I just don’t want you to try, for the sake of everyone but you. You don’t have to ride a horse, not for me, not for anyone. I can take you on the back of my saddle sometimes, and the rest, you can drive the truck.”

Maia hugged her knees, listening quietly, eyes fixated on the flames dancing in front of her. The fire cracked and crackled, a background to Clary’s voice. 

“You don’t have to do it for us. You can just do it for you. We’ll be there anyway, no matter what. This is how we do, here.” Clary whispered. “We have your back. I have your back. No matter what you decide to do.”

Maia closed her eyes for a second. The heat was warming her to her bones now. Or maybe it was Clary’s words. She sighed softly. 

“I like it here, you know? I just don’t want to burden all of you.” 

“Two extra hands are always welcome, even if they are not used to the motions yet.” 

Maia smiled softly. “Even if they sometimes make it a little worse than better?” 

“Nothing’s unfixable.” Clary shrugged next to her. 

Only then did Maia look at her. Clary was basked in the glow of the fire. Her hair was still semi-wet but it looked like it was coming alive in the semi-darkness. She was watching Maia with a soft smile. 

“I’ve got you,” Clary nodded. “I promise, I’ve got you.” 

Maia shifted. She leaned against Clary a little, and immediately Clary wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer.  _ I’ve got you _ . Maia closed her eyes again, and sighed. As the air was expelled out of her lungs, it felt like a weight was somewhat lifting from her shoulders. 

Clary squeezed her a little, and rested her head against Maia’s. Night had fallen. They stayed like this until Maia could feel the hunger stirring at her stomach. Only then did they move. 


End file.
